We had an election in British Columbia yesterday and my party got clobbered. If you aren't into politics (and you should be, at some level), you can just go do your day as usual. I listened to the pundits until I couldn't stay awake and then read some more postings this morning. This chap said it as well as anyone and so I've reposted his message here. You can follow the link from his name at the bottom and decide for yourself if he's someone credible. Proportional Representation won't likely be the first piece of legislation proposed by our new provincial government; too bad it wasn't on the agenda of the last.
BC Election Oct 2026
[note from Ron Merk in Facebook]
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฉ๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐ฝ๐น๐ถ๐
What makes this even more frustrating is how the map was drawn last night. A lot of people who were unhappy with the NDP parked their votes with the Greens. Because of our electoral system, that split the progressive vote and allowed Conservatives to slip up the middle and win ridings they otherwise wouldn't have. (For example, in Ladysmith-Oceanside, the Conservative won by literally 93 votes while the Greens siphoned off a chunk of the electorate). Eby's gamble didn't just fail; it actively fractured his own base.
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๐๐ถ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐, ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ๐น๐, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ "๐๐ ๐๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น๐"
My overall perception of historyโcertainly since the 1950sโis that right-leaning governments in British Columbia usually end up plagued by scandals.
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And for those thinking we haven't had a conservative government recently, remember: the Gordon Campbell and Christy Clark governments in the 2000s and 2010s ran under the "BC Liberal" name, but they were not really a liberal party. They were a centre-right coalition that leaned considerably further right than the federal Liberals. Both of those right-leaning governments ended up mired in major scandals.
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๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐จ๐ป๐๐ฝ๐ผ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ป ๐๐ด๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ
Because of that history, my biggest fear is not just what the new BC Conservatives promised; ๐ถ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐ ๐น๐ฒ๐ณ๐ ๐๐ป๐๐ฝ๐ผ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ป.
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We saw this exact scenario unfold in Alberta with the UCP. Once Danielle Smith was elected, a mountain of policies and changes came out after the fact that were never even on the radar during the campaign cycle. I expect the exact same thing to happen here in BC now that the Conservatives are in power.
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๐ช๐ต๐ฒ๐ป ๐ ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฐ๐น๐ถ๐ฝ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ฃ๐ฒ๐ผ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ
Based on what we do know, my most visible concern is that their policies are ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ผ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ-๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ. They are entirely about money. For anyone who is vulnerable or relies on provincial government services, I suspect you are going to feel a lot of pain over the next four years.
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๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ญ๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐
For those wanting a rundown of what was officially promised, here is the list (including a massive one for those of us on the Island):
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โข ๐ญ. ๐๐ป๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ง๐ฎ๐ ๐๐๐: Raising the basic personal exemption to $32,000.
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โข ๐ฎ. ๐ก๐ผ ๐ก๐ฒ๐ ๐ง๐ฎ๐ ๐ฒ๐: Freezing current taxes for the entire mandate.
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โข ๐ฏ. ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ป ๐ง๐ฎ๐ : Eliminating the provincial carbon tax.
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โข ๐ฐ. ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป: Doubling Liquefied Natural Gas production by 2032.
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โข ๐ฑ. ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ป๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐: Hiring 1,000 new justice and public safety personnel.
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โข ๐ฒ. ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ฅ๐๐ฃ๐: Scrap UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act.
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โข ๐ณ. ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฆ๐ข๐๐ ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ฏ: Removing SOGI resources from schools.
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โข ๐ด. ๐๐ป๐ฑ "๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ณ๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐น๐": Addiction policy from harm reduction to treatment.
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โข ๐ต. ๐ ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ด๐ฒ: Canceling the tunnel project for a bridge instead.
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โข ๐ญ๐ฌ. ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ง ๐๐๐๐: Removing PST on used vehicles and Canadian alcohol.
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โข ๐ญ๐ญ. ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐๐ต๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด: Moving toward a hybrid public/private model.
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โข ๐ญ๐ฎ. ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ด-๐ง๐ฒ๐ฟ๐บ ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ: Making funding portable for seniors.
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โข ๐ญ๐ฏ. ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ: Restructuring auto insurance for more choice.
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โข ๐ญ๐ฐ. ๐๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ผ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด: Returning zoningย density mandates to municipalities.
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โข ๐ญ๐ฑ. ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ฃ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐บ๐ถ๐๐: Fast-tracking forestry and mining approvals.
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๐ญ๐ฒ. ๐ก๐ฎ๐ป๐ฎ๐ถ๐บ๐ผ ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฎ๐ฐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฏ: $60 million for a new cardiac catheterization lab at NRGH (a huge deal for Mid and North Vancouver Island people).
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I did say that 99% of this fiasco lies at the feet of Eby. Sadly, in our current voting system, vote splitting is definitely a thing. If You're a Green supporter, you SHOULD vote Green. Last night wasn't a resounding support of Green policies by many who voted Green - it was, "I'm mad at the NDP, I can't vote Cons, so I'll vote Green"
If we had proportional voting, here's what would have happened (By the way, there would have been a lot more Green MLAs voted in)
Based on the popular vote from the 2026 BC provincial election, a proportional representation (PR) system would have prevented a Conservative majority and resulted in a minority parliament.
In a 93-seat legislature, 47 seats are required for a majority. Here is how the 2026 popular vote would have translated into seats under both a "Pure PR" system and a standard PR system with a 5% minimum vote threshold (which prevents fringe parties from winning seats)
BC Cons - 45 seats
NDP - 35 seats
Green - 10
One BC - 3
We'd have had a minority Govt or a coalition Govt made up of NDP/Green